TheFrontPageCover
~ Featuring ~
Two More Dems Under Ethics Investigations
Thomas Gallatin
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Tuesday Top News Executive Summary
Media Editors: Above the Fold
https://patriotpost.us/articles/66868?mailing_id=4670&utm_medium=email&utm_source=pp.email.4670&utm_campaign=snapshot&utm_content=body
PIVOTAL MOMENT: Closest witnesses kicking off big impeachment week (Associated Press)
NEW TRANSCRIPT: Impeachment witness says Ukraine “gradually came to understand that they were being asked to do something” (The Hill)
House Impeachment Hearing: VIDEO1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POBP1uwgYDY&feature=emb_title
Government & Politics
YET ANOTHER PROBE: Perjury? House Democrats open investigation into whether President Trump lied to Robert Mueller (The Daily Wire)
TAX RETURNS ON HOLD: Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts puts hold on release of Trump tax returns (The Resurgent)
JUNK CARE FOR ALL: Elizabeth dinky/liar-Warren relies on rationing in Medicare for All plan; cost-cutting measures would likely lead to long wait-times, limited care (The Washington Free Beacon)
CONFLICT OF INTEREST, CONTINUED: worthless-Ilhan Omar funneled another $150,000 to alleged lover’s consulting group (New York Post)
National Security
WOLVES AMONG SHEEP: Nearly 80,000 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients have prior arrest records (National Review)
MIGRATION GATEWAY: Tough Trump asylum policy prompts migrants to enter U.S. and then flee to Canada (Washington Examiner)
Culture & Heartland
CAPITULATION: Chick-fil-A to stop donating to Christian charities branded “anti-LGBT” (The Daily Wire)
“I WANT THEM TO KNOW HOW”: Utah police training teachers for active shootings (Washington Examiner)
Closing Arguments
POLICY: Solar panels produce tons of toxic waste — literally (Foundation for Economic Education)
POLICY: The Antifederalists were eerily prophetic (Foundation for Economic Education)
HUMOR: Chick-fil-A trades adoring Christian fans for outraged mob that won’t be appeased until its every demand is met (The Babylon Bee)
~The Patriot Posthttps://patriotpost.us/articles/66868?mailing_id=4670&utm_medium=email&utm_source=pp.email.4670&utm_campaign=snapshot&utm_content=body
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House Impeachment Hearings – Day Three – 9:00am Vindman and Williams / 2:30pm
Volker and Morrison
by sundance
{ theconservativetreehouse.com } ~ Today the House Impeachment Committee (HPSCI) begins day three of public hearings toward their goal of removing U.S. President Donald J Trump from office... The first hearing begins at 9 a.m ET with Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman, the Ukraine usurper on the National Security Council who leaked to Eric Ciaramella for the construction of a fraudulent ‘whistle-blower’ complaint; and Jennifer Williams, the executive usurper/aide to Vice President Mike Pence. Both were on the phone call between President Trump and Ukraine President Zelensky. Then at 2:30pm ET Kurt D. Volker, the former United States special envoy to Ukraine, and Timothy Morrison, a Europe and Russia expert for the NatSec Council will testify. https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2019/11/19/house-impeachment-hearings-day-three-900am-vindman-and-williams-230pm-volker-and-morrison-livestream-links/.
Taliban free American, Australian hostages
after more than 3 years in captivity
By Jack Durschlag
{ foxnews.com } ~ In what's being seen as a hopeful sign in the Afghan peace talks, the Taliban on Tuesday freed two Western hostages who were held for more than three years... The hostages, both teachers at the American University in Kabul held since 2016, were identified as American Kevin C. King, 63, and Australian Timothy J. Weeks, 50. They were released to American forces as part of a prisoner swap. “We are so happy to hear that my brother has been freed and is on his way home to us,” King’s sister, Stephanie Miller, said in a statement. “This has been a long and painful ordeal for our entire family, and his safe return has been our highest priority." King is now said to be with American officials and is receiving medical care ahead of his return to the U.S. King's brother-in-law, Joe Miller, said the family is "particularly grateful to members of the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, who have supported us through the past three trying years. "We also want to send the very best wishes to Tim Weeks and his family as they welcome him home," he added. In exchange for the hostages, Afghanistan released three Taliban members, one of which is Anas Haqqani — the younger brother of the group's military operations leader. The exchange brokered by American peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad after he had negotiated a tentative agreement earlier with the Taliban that would have included terms of an American troop withdrawal. However, those talks were ended by President Trump in September. President Ashraf Ghani said last week the exchange was intended to “facilitate direct peace negotiations” between the Afghan government and the Taliban. He is also hopeful the exchange could nudge the Taliban toward agreeing to at least a partial cease-fire, which would be a precondition to any talks. The Taliban reportedly has refused to negotiate with Ghani’s government until the United States reaches a troop withdrawal deal with the insurgency. The American University of Afghanistan said the community "shares the relief of the families of Kevin and Timothy, and we look forward to providing all the support we can to Kevin and Tim and their families.”....
Democrats 'racing' to beat disclosure that
'damages the scumbag/liar-nObama/
loose lips liar-Biden administration'
by Daniel Chaitin
{ washingtonexaminer.com } ~ Democratic leaders are rushing through impeachment proceedings to beat out a potentially scathing revelation about the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation... according to a House Intelligence Committee Republican. Texas Rep. John Ratcliffe said Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz's forthcoming report on FBI intelligence-gathering activities is "likely to be damning" in how it reflects upon the scumbag/liar-nObama administration, and by extension former Vice President loose lips liar-Joe Biden, who is a leading candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. "liar-Nancy Pelosi and scumbag/liar-Adam Schiff are racing to get this done," the Texas congressman said on Fox News's Sunday Morning Futures, referring to the House speaker and House Intelligence Committee chairman, respectively. "That’s why we have five impeachment hearings this week with eight different witnesses. They’re racing the clock. They want to get this done before information that comes out that damages the scumbag/liar-nObama/loose lips liar-Biden administration and their efforts to frame Donald Trump come out in the IG report or from John Durham’s criminal investigation into those very same issues." The long-awaited report is eagerly anticipated by President Trump's GOP allies, who claim Horowitz's findings will show top Justice Department and FBI officials misled the FISA Court by using an unverified dossier compiled by British ex-spy Christopher Steele to obtain warrants to electronically monitor onetime Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. Horowitz's findings could be useful for U.S. Attorney John Durham, who is conducting a criminal inquiry into the origins of the Russia investigation. Attorney General William Barr told reporters on Wednesday that it was his understanding the release of the report was "imminent," following a classification review by the Justice Department and FBI, as well as a final session for witnesses to provide feedback. Democrats, as well as current and former FBI officials, have dismissed allegations of wrongdoing and have raised concerns that information about U.S. intelligence gathering could be weaponized to discredit special counsel Robert Mueller. In the House, Democrats are spearheading impeachment proceedings that are examining the possibility that Trump abused his office to improperly pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rivals, including loose lips liar-Biden. Early predictions put a vote on articles of impeachment around Thanksgiving, but now it appears Democrats may finish their work sometime around the Christmas season or later. House Speaker liar-Nancy Pelosi said in a CBS News interview airing Sunday that she has "no idea" if impeachment proceedings will wrap up by the end of the year. Ratcliffe said he anticipates the FISA report will be made public during the first week of December, but he and other Republicans have previously made predictions for earlier release dates that did not pan out. Ratcliffe also said the report is "supposedly 500 pages." .
Marie Yovanavich was prepped by
the scumbag/liar-nObama administration
By ADAM PETERS
{ dailychristiannews.com } ~ As part of their continued impeachment efforts, Democrats had former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch testify before the House Intelligence Committee... While doing so, Republican Elise Stefanik got her to admit something that raised eyebrows. Under Stefanik’s questioning, Yovanovitch had to acknowledge that before her confirmation hearings, the scumbag/liar-nObama administration prepped her on how to handle questions about Hunter Biden and Burisma–the Ukrainian energy firm he worked for. “The first time you personally became aware of Burisma was actually when you were being prepared by the scumbag/liar-nObama State Department for your confirmation hearings, and this was in the form of practice questions and answers.” “You testified that in this particular practice Q&A with the scumbag/liar-nObama State Department, it wasn’t just generally about Burisma and corruption, it was specifically about Hunter Biden and Burisma. Is that correct?” Stefanik asked. When Yovanovitch said that it was, the New York Republican proceeded to quote how she described one of the questions in her deposition. “The way the question was phrased in this Q&A was, ‘What can you tell us about Hunter Biden being named to the board at Burisma?'”....
European Court Applies Double
Standard against Israeli Products
by Soeren Kern
{ gatestoneinstitute.org } ~ The Court of Justice of the European Union, the EU's highest court, has ruled that food products made in so-called Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Golan Heights must be specifically labelled... as such and may not carry the generic label "Made in Israel." The ruling, which singles out Israel, was presumably motivated not by concerns over food safety or consumer protection but by the EU's anti-Israeli foreign policy preference. It has been roundly criticized as biased, discriminatory and anti-Semitic. The labelling case has its origins in questions regarding the interpretation of EU Regulation 1169/2011, dated October 25, 2011, concerning consumer information on food products. The regulation was ambiguous on the issue of the labelling of food products from Israel. On November 12, 2015, the European Commission, in an effort to clarify existing EU legislation on origin information of products from Israeli-occupied territories, issued a so-called Interpretive Notice. This directive stated that food products sold in the EU may not be labelled as "Made in Israel" if they are produced outside of Israel's pre-1967 borders. The document explained: "The European Union, in line with international law, does not recognize Israel's sovereignty over the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967, namely the Golan Heights, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and does not consider them to be part of Israel's territory, irrespective of their legal status under domestic Israeli law." On November 24, 2016, France's Ministry of Economy and Finance published a so-called Ministerial Notice JORF No. 0273, Text No. 81 which outlined the French government's interpretation of EU law on labeling requirements for Israeli products. The French requirements, even more strict than those of the EU, stipulate: "For products originating from the West Bank or the Golan Heights that originate from settlements, a reference to 'product from the Golan Heights' or 'product from the West Bank' is not acceptable. Although these terms actually refer to the wider area or territory from which the product originates, the omission of the complementary geographic information that the product is from Israeli settlements is likely to mislead the consumer as to the true origin of the product. In such cases, it is necessary to add, in parentheses, the expression 'Israeli settlement' colonies israéliennes or equivalent terms. For example, expressions such as 'product from the Golan Heights Israeli settlement' or 'product from the West Bank Israeli settlement' may be used."....
Iran Intel leak: 700 documents show
how Iran outplayed the US in Iraq
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN
{ jpost.com } ~ US policy has been a mix of guns and butter in Iraq since the invasion of 2003: offering military training and arms and trying to butter up some officials that Washington thought would be its champions in Baghdad... But at every turn an Iranian octopus was lurking, outplaying the ham-handed American attempts to exert influence in Baghdad, even maneuvering Iranian-backed candidates into office with US backing, tricking Washington to make the US think it had “won.” Meanwhile Iran played the long game. New leaked Iranian documents appear to show how Iran did it. Today the US is still training some Iraqis but it is heading for some kind of an exit eventually. The US wants to shore up the Peshmerga in the Kurdistan Regional Government and also leave a more competent layer of Iraqi security forces, with good units like the Counter-Terrorism Service, to keep ISIS and other groups in check. But America understands that in the long-term, whatever comes out of Iraq will largely be either by Iranian design or in reaction to Iran; the US simply cannot decide thousands of miles away in DC. Symbolic of the problem were rockets fired at the Green Zone on November 17. A trove of documents analyzed by The Intercept and shared with The New York Times reveals how Iran outmaneuvered the US, the Intercept notes. Although much of this was known, the 700 pages of documents, translated from Farsi, show new details and, the report notes, shows how Iran got a firm grip on Iraq and is using it as a “gateway for Iranian power” that now stretches through Syria to Lebanon and increasingly threatens Israel. Iraq is the “near abroad” for Iran now, and Iran is building its own IRGC in Iraq, called the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU). The archive of documents comes from 2014-2015 and is from “officers of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security.” 2014-2015 was a pivotal year because it is when ISIS swallowed up a third of Iraq and threatened Baghdad. In response, Iran sent advisors, and Iraq’s Ayatollah Ali Sistani called for mass mobilization of Shi’ite men to fight. That became the PMU, which became part of the Iraqi Security Forces; now their party is the second largest in Iraq. 2015 was also the year of the Iran deal when the Washington and Tehran appeared on the same page in Iraq. The US under the scumbag/liar-nObama administration supported the Iranian-backed Shi’ite sectarian Nouri al-Maliki to be prime minister and then supported his replacement Haider al-Abadi. In both cases, Washington wanted a “strong man” in Baghdad. And they got one. But so did Iran. Later, the US would encourage Abadi to attack the Kurds in Kirkuk, helping Iran’s Qasem Soleimani seize a strategic region of Iraq in 2017. The US thought it was empowering Baghdad to be “nationalist” and got Abadi a meeting with the Saudis. In fact, America was backing Iran’s influence, punishing its own Kurdish allies in a method that would replay itself in Syria....
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Two More Dems Under Ethics Investigations
Thomas Gallatin: The House Ethics Committee is investigating two Democrats, we learned Thursday. One is freshmen Rep. worthless-Rashida Tlaib (MI) — a member of the four-woman hard-left “Squad” — and the other is longtime Rep. Alcee Hastings (FL). In worthless-Tlaib’s case, the announcement follows the unanimous vote by the Office of Congressional Ethics to refer her for a possible violation of federal law due to evidence implicating her having used campaign funds for personal use.
National Review reports, “Tlaib was paid over $45,000 dollars by her campaign between May and December 2018. While FEC regulations permit a campaign to pay a candidate, it must be for ‘work performed up through the date of the general election.’ Checks, emails, and spreadsheets show that Tlaib was paid $17,500 after the November 6, 2018 election. A November 29 email from the campaign’s treasurer to worthless-Tlaib says that checks are ‘for the time period through December 31, 2018.’” A release of multiple emails from worthless-Tlaib to her campaign show repeated instances where she requested campaign money to use for her own personal expenses.
In Hastings’s case, the Committee released a statement noting that it is “considering whether Representative Hastings’ relationship with the individual employed in his congressional office is in violation of House Rule XXII, clause 18(a), and whether Representative Hastings has received any improper gifts, including any forbearance, from that employee.” There is no indication that the relationship was non-consensual.
This now makes the third House Democrat to be investigated for ethics violations this year. Recall that Rep. Katie Hill (CA) stepped down last month following the revelation of inappropriate relationships with members of her campaign and congressional staff. And these aren’t the only Democrats facing potential ethics investigations. Minnesota Rep. worthless-Ilhan Omar’s alleged affair with a member of her campaign-consulting team has many calling for an investigation. And Brooklyn Rep. commie-Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s former chief of staff is currently under investigation for campaign-finance violations, which could possibly end up implicating commie-AOC.
The point is that Democrats are far from having the corner on ethical behavior, even as they so loudly bang the impeachment drum against President Donald Trump. ~The Patriot Post
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